Sekhmet
Sekhmet is a fictional character in the Wild Cards series of books. History Isras' family was from Alexandria, Egypt where she gave birth to eight children the first of whom was named Fuad, and another who was named Jamal. One by one her children died from disease or malnutrition until only Fuad remained before he died in an accident on the docks a week before he turned twenty. These events caused Isra to lose her faith in Allah. Sometime later Isras' Wild Card turned, and due to her suffering from malnutrition her body transformed into a red scarab. Not long after she was found by the Living Gods and dubbed Sekhmet. Placed in a red bauble amulet by her fellow Gods she was given to Peregrine during the 1987 WHO Tours' stay in Egypt on the Gods promise she would give Peregrine's child power and guidance. Twenty years later Peregrines' son John Fortune, in the company of Lohengrin and Jonathan Hive, found the necklace and put it on. Isra broke free of the amulet, entered Fortune's body, and crawled under his skin to his forehead while he panicked. She then took control of his body and transformed into Sekhmet the Destroyer. Seeing Lohengrin as a threat in his ghost steel armor, she defended herself as they engaged each other, accidentally setting the house on fire while they fought. When Jonathan Hive interrupted the pair, Sekhmet escaped and dashed off into the night. After relinquishing control and coming to an accord with John Fortune, they reunited with John's friends and set off in the direction of Las Vegas to contact a Vegas faction of the Living Gods who had taken up residence in the United States. Arriving at the Luxor in Vegas, Sekhmet returned control and form to Fortune who discussed Sekhmet and his options with Isis, Osiris, and Thoth. Later on the casino floor, Isra mentally conversed with Fortune and shared her pain with him, convincing him to help the followers of the Living Gods in Egypt in their losing struggle against the Caliphate. Fortune and Sekhmet went the Necropolis of Cairo where they were later found by Lohengrin and Hive who had tracked them there. Joined by Lohengrin and Hive, they and the refugees headed south to the Living Gods refuge of Karnak. Along the way they were attacked and pecked at by Jackal marauders, and Sekhmet and Lohengrin also fought and ravaged a detachment of the Egyptian Army. After arriving at Karnak Sekhmet and her allies joined forces with the Living Gods living there and attempted to fight the joined Egyptian and Caliphate forces but were non the less continuously forced to retreat with the several of the Gods dying. Wild Card Traits When Isra drew her ace, she found that she could transform into a huge lioness the size of a pony. In this form she the comparative strength and physical power of an oversized desert cat(enough to rip smaller tanks open), and she also had a power to release extreme heat from her body, both from her hide and as a fiery exhalation from her mouth. Not only does the fire breath offer a potent weapon, but the heat from her body is also enough melt small arms gunfire directed against her, reducing the injuries she would have sustained to harsh bruises and the occasional bone fracture. The power of Sekhmet was too great for Isra to endure, and her body underwent a secondary transformation into that of a small red stone scarab achet, or amulet. In this state, her mind lay dormant, trapped in the stone until she could be bonded with someone strong enough to hold the power of Sekhmet the Destroyer. Appearance Isra was a plain woman with brown skin. The form of Sekhmet the Destroyer is that of a huge lioness the size of a pony, that emanates a steady, hot glow. Personality Isra is a determined woman, wishing to use her power to protect the underprivileged poor people of Egypt, but often trapped and frustrated by the limitations of her power. She has suffered incredible loss having watched her children succumb to malnutrition, starvation, and disease. Selected Reading * *Wild Cards Volume XIX: ''Busted Flush'' *Wild Cards Volume XX: ''Suicide Kings'' (minor) Category:Mythology-based characters